Oh Anne Penketh you are a new author to me, but you have a new fan! I couldn’t get enough of Murder At The Manor.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

I wasn't a big fan of this mystery as I found it a bit too confusing and hard to understand even if I like other I read in this series.
There's plenty of potential but it wasn't my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

An enjoyable read. Great characters and story. Will be looking out for more from this writer.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read. This is a fun book for fans of mysteries! It is nice to find new authors in this genre.

This book was enthralling early on. It kept me guessing because there were so many suspects. I had a shock toward the end of the story as I had not even considered the true perpetrators as suspects. I look forward to reading more DI Clayton books. I highly recommend this book to other police procedural readers.

⭐⭐

This one was just okay. I found it super slow and struggled with it holding my attention. I loved the setting, though. So there is that. 🤷🏻‍♀️

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Cliffs falling into the sea and a wild fun party at the mansion is the start of the murder mystery. Who killed the party birthday boy? The venue sounds fabulous and the party goers are dressed in period wear. The story was interesting. The twist at the end was a big one. Sure didn't see it coming. I liked the book.

As much as i enjoyed the previous three books in this series this one disappointed, Seemed to be too long winded and could have wrapped up a lot sooner

Hopefully he next instalment will be a lot better Very disappinting

This is the latest in Anne Penketh's North Norfolk crime series featuring DI Sam Clayton and DS Julie Everett of the Anglian Constabulary based at Wymondham. This time they find themselves in the village of Tideburgh, where at Inverson Hall, a Georgian country house owned by Dennis Inverson, a man loathed by the locals. The Hall is unsaleable and is being used as a party house, and Dennis's son, 25 year old Rupert was celebrating with a themed party of the French Sun King's Court, with 2 dozen guests. Rupert dressed as Louis XIV himself, and after Rupert is found dead in the pool, the police investigate. In what turns out to be a complicated police inquiry, there is another dead body that turns up on the beach, and a whole swathe of suspects to look at for the police team. There's a terrific sense of location, but the mystery itself takes a familiar path. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

3.5 Stars. A great blend of Police Procedural with a "Manor House" murder, with a cast of suspects out of a Lucy Foley novel. Penketh's no non-sense style of writing makes this a straight forward fast paced mystery, but filled with complicated characters and plenty of psychological motivations. **Thank you to both NetGalley and Joffe books for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!**

The setting for the murder, a manor house filled with guests at a Louis the XIV themed party, was a great set-up, especially with the details of who played what characters and the parallels with their modern counterparts. When an additional body washes up on the beach, the mystery becomes even more muddled, with everything from inheritance, to land deals and coastal erosion, to hidden identities and affairs, gay hate crimes, and more stirring up the water.

This was a quick read, and I felt the conclusion/climax could have been drawn out a little more (it felt a little rushed), I really liked it and just wanted a little more. It reminded me of the show Midsommer Murders - this could have totally been the plot of one, especially with the mix of characters, older power players and their embittered neighbors, younger punk kids, affairs and hidden parentage.

Overall a good mystery with a fun theme with the Versaille tie-in. This is the first book I've read from Joffe books and I liked their vibe and self description at the end, I will definitely pick up more books by them (I also loved that they offered an email for readers to send in mistakes found to).

secrets, costume-party, friction, small-town, family-dynamics, friendship, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, coastal-erosion, procedural, England, teamwork*****

No lack of suspects or motives! A costumed 25th birthday party for the youngest son of a construction contractor is held in dad's unsalable country house turned party house. The son had more than one enemy, but dad was seriously disliked by everyone along the eroding coastline. The son is found face down in the swimming pool but the post mortem proves a different form of murder. Enter the investigation team, shortly followed by another death. Great read that easily stands alone.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Joffe Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Thank you #Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Murder at the Manor by Anne Penketh in exchange for an honest review. DI Sam Clayton and DS Jake Everett had been sent to Tideburgh to investigate a suspicious death. The son of the manor is found floating in the pool. This was a great story. I loved Anne Penketh's writing. This was my first book I have read of her's and immediately looked up the rest. Another new author to follow.

I have been a fan of Anne’s work for a little while now. In fact I have been a fan of her work ever since I had the good fortune to pick up the first book in the series featuring Detective Inspector Sam Clayton, which is called ‘Murder On The Marsh’. I have read the other two books in the series and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. So when I heard that Anne was due to release another book in the series called ‘Murder At The Manor’, I knew that I had to read it as soon as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Murder At The Manor’ but more about that in a bit.
I was drawn into this story from the synopsis and the story within the covers of the book sealed the deal as it were. As soon as I started reading, I felt as though I was back with the gang so to speak. I was intrigued by the story and I had my own theories as to what was going to happen, so I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or if I had wandered down the wrong path entirely. The pages of the book turned increasingly quickly as my desperation to find out what happened grew and grew. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘Murder At The Manor’ and I had to say farewell to DI Sam Clayton and the team. I found ‘Murder At The Manor’ to be a gripping read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat.
‘Murder At The Manor’ is extremely well written. I loved the way in which Anne entices readers into the story right from the very beginning. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. I love the way in which Anne makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story themselves an at the heart of the action. Reading ‘Murder At The Manor’ felt like being on a bit of a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Murder At The Manor’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Anne’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

,Very good book, lots of family secrets! Will keep you wondering till the end. Why does everyone like to play dress up at parties? Do you never forget?

The set up gor this mystery was great—the murder of a young man hosting his birthday party with a Louis the XIV theme—but the author really didnt do anything with this interesting setup. Instead it turned into a mundane police procedural with uninteresting and irrelevant side cases and a very flat dolution.

There’s a good plot featuring a fancy dress party based on the court of Louis XIV, with meaning attached to who should wear the costume of the characters. The party ends in murder and the police are left to dig past the lies and secrets to discover the murderer. There is also some interesting commentary about eroding coastlines, and how that impacts people. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is book number 4 in a series set in the beautiful county of Norfolk. It features DI Sam Clayton, a plain speaking detective who started out in the Lancashire constabulary and has risen up through the ranks to become a DI in Norwich. He is assisted by DS Julie Everett, who came to the team from working in child protection in Ipswich. Sam is divorced from wife Claire, while Julie has also split up from her partner and now raises her son alone. They make a great team. Iverson Hall, a Georgian manor house in the village of Tideburgh in Norfolk owned by Dennis Iversen, is in increasing danger of being washed into the sea by coastal erosion. Unable to sell it he now lives in Norwich and rents it out as a party house, much to the disgust of the narrow-minded locals. The story opens on the night he is holding a 25th birthday party for his son Rupert where 24 guests join him in fancy dress as The Court of the Sun King, with Rupert himself dressed as Louis XIV. The next morning Rupert is found dead, still in costume and floating face down in the swimming pool. DI Sam Clayton and DS Julie Everett from the Anglian Constabulary based in Wymondham are despatched to investigate. The death looks suspicious. Could a partygoer or an intruder be involved? The post mortem shows they are dealing with a case of murder, and working under DCI Bligh together with DC Dave Bullard, the team embarks on an investigation involving a large number of suspects, no motive, a missing murder weapon and a mountain of forensic evidence to check. Then another body turns up, this time on Tidebrugh beach. Is there a connection? Surely two deaths close together in such a small place can’t be coincidence?
This is a great solid and engrossing police procedural involving a dogged search for the truth, with loads of false leads and red herrings. It works fine as a standalone as very little previous history for the main characters is involved that isn’t very adequately explained. All in all, it’s a very entertaining and well written story, and an excellent addition to the series. 5*

Murder at the Manor is the fourth instalment in the Detective Inspector Sam Clayton Mystery series. DI Clayton and colleague DS Julie Everett have been assigned to investigate the case of a suspicious death that had taken place in their small village of Tideburgh in Norfolk. The prominent Iverson family reside in the spacious Georgian Manor House on the estate known as Iverson Hall and are about to throw a large birthday celebration for their son Rupert. The party was to cater for 24 of Rupert’s closest friends and would be both hosted and paid for by daddy dearest, Dennis Iverson.

Patriarch and hated local resident Dennis ensured there was no expense spared and there isn't really any qualms given to skirting the edge of legality as the family often do. Of course, the situation gets out of hand when you include ample drug use and sexual debauchery, and eventually it ends in murder. With an original and captivating mystery, plenty of distinctive characters, a well-written plot, and twists, turns and misdirection aplenty, there is more than enough to sink your teeth into here. A recommended read.

DI Sam Clayton, along with DS Neil Pringle and DS Julie Everette are charged with investigating when a man's body is found floating face down in the swimming pool of a party house.

The young man, Rupert Iverson, was celebrating his 25th birthday with 24 of his closest friends. This was a costume party with costumes for each of his guests selected by him. It's all about Louis XIV, with wigs and fancy dress.

Who would want this young man dead? Someone not happy with their costume? The current girlfriend he plans on leaving to be with his ex-girlfriend? The old girlfriend who doesn't know? Or is it an attack on the man's father? His wealthy father is a man of importance .. and a man with many enemies? Retaliation? Revenge?

While investigating, another of the villagers falls to her death from the cliffs nearby? Accident? Suicide? Murder? Are the two cases even connected?

Suspense starts on the very first page and only escalates throughout until the very last explosive, unexpected conclusion. Twists and turns abound as many suspects, who all seem to have nefarious motives. Lies and deception are the norm. Although 4th in the series, this can easily be read as a stand alone. I would, however, recommend starting at the beginning as the characters all have backstories that go a long way in explaining how they have become the people they are .. and how it relates to the tough job they do every single day.

Many thanks to the author /Joffe Books / Books n All Book Promotions / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

The story opens with DI Sam Clayton and DS Julie Everett tasked to solve a suspicious death in Tideburgh.

There was birthday party for 24 of Rupert Iverson’s closest friends at the family’s Georgian Manor known as Iverson Hall. Hosted and paid for by Rupert’s father, Dennis Iverson, sex drugs all sorts of debauchery reign supreme among the guests and all are partaking of one or the other. The party is a parallel narrative from the court of Versailles during the time of the Sun King, Louis XIV. The players are jumbled around with this gent playing the roll of that lady and vice versa. It is all a bit bizarre but extremely creative if you are able to follow along.

There is so much about to go wrong, not the least of which is Rupert’s murder. Then there is the villager’s supposition that is may well have been a homophobic attack? After all this man is playing the role of a woman but is in fact the lover of another man who is partnered with a different man altogether. Plus the villagers absolutely despise Dennis Iverson who they perceive as the responsible party for allowing houses close to the cliffs to fall into the sea without a chance of being saved or finding compensation for the owner’s losses. There is so much Clayton and Everett need to untangle.

This is a good British police procedural with strong characters, a crafty murder, and a nod to social, class and local politics issues which inevitably cause divisiveness and conflict. Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for a copy.